1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical devices capable of holding nasal tubes in place.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical tubes are often used to provide an unobstructed pathway into a patient. For example, a naso-gastric tube is inserted into the patient's nose down the esophagus and into the stomach to provide a method of feeding the patient, delivering medication, or keeping the stomach decompressed. A naso-jejunum tube, which is inserted in a similar manner through the stomach and into the patient's jejunum, enables the patient to be fed directly into their intestines. These tubes are often mercury weighted in order to be monitored radiologically for proper insertion depth.
Nasal tubes are often inserted and left in place for an extended period of time. Movement by the patient during sleep or under other circumstances, such as coming out of anesthesia, sometimes causes the tubes to move out of position. Also, small children, particularly those that are mentally challenged, may not understand the importance of the tubes and may attempt to pull them out. However, unlike other types of tubes, such as those used for respiration, repositioning of nasal tubes can be extremely time consuming and medically stressful on the patient. For this reason, nasal tubes must be securely fastened to the patient in order to ensure that they are not inadvertently removed or disturbed.
A variety of techniques are known for securing nasal tubes. For example, adhesive tape can be used to attach the tube to the patient's face. However, movement of the tube could cause tearing or detachment of the tape, and constant replacement with new tape can cause skin irritation. Also, securing the tubing with tape to the patient's cheek often results in indentations on their skin from the tubing that can lead to skin breakdown. Furthermore, many patients requiring nasal tubes are malnourished, which can substantially compromise their integumentary system, making them more susceptible to skin breakdown with a decreased ability for recovery.
Furthermore, several devices have been described for this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,046,989, 5,172,688, and 5,833,663 describe a flexible or moldable nose piece that includes a mechanism for holding a tube underneath a patient's nose. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,120,304, 4,932,943, and 4,986,815 also describe strips that fit over the patient's nose and include a clamping type device to secure the tube. However, for each of these, the nasal tube inserted into the patient remains under the nose, which would partially obstruct the patient's mouth. Since some patients also require medical tubing inserting either into the mouth (such as an endotracheal tube) or, for respiratory conditions, placed under the nose, obstruction by the nasal tube would be an issue. Furthermore, nasal tubes under the nose would be more easily dislodged or moved by a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,736 describes a universal clamp that can be used for securing a nasal tube to a patient's forehead. Also, related U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,338,663, and 4,838,878 further describe the use of a nosepiece in conjunction with the universal claim. However, such a two-piece system would be complicated to use and would require alignment of the individual parts by medical staff.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple, comfortable, one piece apparatus that would be capable of securely fastening nasal tubes to a patient without the problems described above.